Apple makes $6.2b profit but disappoints analysts

Some people are never happy

Apple has announced its financial results for Q3 2011, revealing that it made $6.62 billion of profit in the last quarter, which, despite being up over $2 billion compared to the same period in 2010, didn't please analysts whose predictions had been higher.

The company's revenue for the quarter was $28.3 billion, which came as a surprise to those analysts who had predicted $29.6 billion. It marks the first time in over four years that Apple's results have dipped below analysts' predictions, a fact which caused the company's stocks to fall in some regions.

iDog and bone

iPhone sales came in at 17.07 million for the quarter, which sounds pretty good to us, but disappointed analysts who had predicted 20 million sales.

The period ended on 24 September, so the 4 million iPhone 4S sales made last weekend aren't included but would have tipped the company comfortably into the 20 million plus zone.

The company acknowledged that iPhone sales were down (the drop in demand over the course of the quarter was "substantial", Apple CEO Tim Cook said), but predicts Q4 to be its "best yet" with Christmas shoppers fuelling the iPhone 4S rush.

"In our wildest dreams, we couldn't have gotten off to as great a start as we did with the iPhone 4S," Cooke added.

He also opened the results call by acknowledging the elephant in the room and paying tribute to Steve Jobs: "His spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple, and we are dedicated to continuing the amazing work that he loved so much."